New Sturm star

“Chauffeurs in Graz are almost all compatriots”

President Christian Jauk (r.) hopes to have signed a new striker jewel for Sturm in Erencan Yardimci.(Bild: Pail Sepp)

Speed, power, depth - Andreas Schicker and Christian Ilzer hope to have acquired the same attributes with which Rasmus Höjlund or Emanuel Emegha thrilled the Sturm fans with Erencan Yardimci in the transfer finale. The "Krone" asked the Turkish U21 team striker (market value €2 million) to introduce himself to the fans.

"I was born in Kocaeli, a city similar in size to Graz, but I live in Istanbul, where I also played in the Süper Lig with Pendikspor," says the 22-year-old fuzzy-haired player, who Hoffenheim bought for four million and immediately loaned out to Graz. "It was strange," smiles the product of the Galatasaray school in English, "I slept one night in Hoffenheim and then immediately traveled to Graz."

He likes the Uhrturm-City: "Small, beautiful, on the river, not as big as Istanbul. I also like the atmosphere at Sturm, it's all so familiar. Now I want to learn German as quickly as possible."

However, he only briefly tried driving a car with gears before returning the keys: "At the moment, I'm ordering an Uber. But luckily the drivers in Graz are almost all Turkish compatriots."

The new Graz attacking hope likes the Sturm-Wäsch.(Bild: Pail Sepp)

Dream of a career like Erling Haaland
Even though his compatriots are competing in the Davis Cup in Bad Waltersdorf at the weekend, "Eren" (as his parents call him) has little interest in tennis: "I'm a fan of Formula 1 and soccer, of course." One of his great role models also played in Austria: "I like Erling Haaland - a career like that would be a dream."

In Graz, however, he wants to take it step by step: "I want to drive my development forward and would like to play in the Champions League." Christian Ilzer's style suits him very well: "High pressing with quick switching is exactly my profile, I'm also quite fast." Höjlund and Emegha's career leaps have certainly not escaped his notice.